An early-morning blaze ripped through a home at 81 Bird Lane in Milford, Conn on Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. All three occupants escaped safely.

An early-morning blaze ripped through a home at 81 Bird Lane in Milford, Conn on Friday, Oct. 25, 2013. All three occupants escaped safely.

Photo: Contributed Photo

Pre-dawn fire damages Milford home

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MILFORD -- A Bird Lane family awakened by what they thought were rocks being thrown at their house found a roaring fire instead.

Ed Recchia, owner of the blue ranch home at 81 Bird Lane, said the noise woke him up and he asked his adult son to investigate.

The younger man found a fully-involved fire on the back deck and he inadvertently let the flames into the house by opening the glass sliding doors, Capt. Kyle Brotherton said.

"That gave the fire a pathway in and it made the damage much worse,'' Brotherton said. "It was going good when we pulled up at about 3:15 a.m. and Engine 5 laid an attack (hose) line through the front door and a second attack line was established from the rear.

"A ladder company opened up the roof and I'd say within 15 minutes we had all of the fire knocked down,'' the fire department spokesman said. There were no pets in the house, he said.

Firefighters were still on the scene at 7 a.m., wetting down the charred wood from the back deck and shoveling the debris into bins.

The father and son and the younger man's girlfriend stood in the driveway, dressed in nightclothes and being consoled by neighbors. Up the street, a school bus stopped to bring students to nearby Joseph A. Foran High.

Milford tax assessment records show that 1,576-square foot house was built in 1963. The three-bedroom house, including a quarter acre, has an appraised value of $301,802. The home is not habitable but can be restored, officials said.

"We're not smokers,'' the elder Recchia said. "I have no idea how this might have started.''

The fire marshal is investigating to determine the cause, Brotherton said. Although there were smoke alarms in the house, "that wasn't how they were alerted to the presence of fire.''